Before a child is
able to read or write, he/she must be able to identify phonemes and the
letters
which represent them.This lesson will
teach students to represent the phoneme /s/ in speech and the letter s
in
written language.The goal will be met
by having the children listen for and repeat the phoneme in speech.

Materials:

Primary paper and pencil; chart with Susie the
snake slithers
swiftly down the street; worksheets with variety of pictures on it; 5
cards
with pictures of “s” words on them (sailboat, sun, star, snake, stairs)
and 5
cards with non-s words on them (bed, tire, bird, lion, egg), the book Roar
and More by Karla Kuskin

Procedures:

Begin the class with a review of the
letters that have previously been learned.This
should include most of the vowels and some consonants.Discuss both the phoneme and the letter it represents and
ask students for examples of words that begin with these phonemes.

Write the letter p on the board.Say:“Do
any of you have a name that begins with the letter s?The letter s says /s/.”Stretch
out the /s/ when you saythe child’s name.

Ask the students:“Do you hear the /s/ in the word seven?(children should answer yes) Good. When
you hear me say a word and it has the /s/ sound, I want you to slither
your hands like a snake would.Does
everyone understand?Let’s practice now:seven.”(Wiggle
your hands when you say the s in order to model forthe students.)

“Let’s say a tongue twister together
now.”Point to the words on the chart as
you say the words.“Susie the snake
slithers swiftly down the street.” “Lets say this together a few times.Good job.Now
this time, let’s stretch out the /s/ at the beginning of the words.“Ssssusie the ssssnake sssslithers sssswiftly
down the sssstreet.”“Everyone is doing
such a great job.We are going to say this
sentence one more time and break the /s/ offa
the beginning of the word:“/S/usie the
/s/nake /s/lithers /s/wiftly down the /s/treet.”“Great
job!”

Give the students a piece of primary
paper and a pencil.“We use the letter s
to spell /s/.Let’s write it together.To make the letter s you: first form a tiny
cup in the air between the rooftop and the fence, then swing back. When
you are done raise your hand and I will come and see it.After I pat you on your back, I want you to write it 5 more
times just the same way so that you can become an expert at writing the
letter s.I know you will do a great job.”

At this point in the lesson, ask the
children to raise their hand if they can answer your question.“Do you hear /s/ in sun or moon? Finish or
start?Sky or ground?Good job.”Now show the
children the cards and ask them to move their hands like a snake if
they hear the /s/ when they say the word.

Read the book Roar and
More by Karla Kuskin.Have the
students wiggle their hands like the snake does when they hear the /s/.Then have each student draw a picture of a
snake and write a message using invented spelling about the snake.Display their work in the classroom for a
short time and then take each student’s paper and add it to their
alphabet book..

For assessment, distribute the picture
page and help students name each picture and color the pictures that
begin with the /s/ sound.